This Year Some Employees Will Be Receiving More Than A Valentine's Day Card

Last year, the California legislature enacted AB 1075 (Bauer-Kahan) which declares it to be unlawful "to include a noncompete clause in an employment contract, or to require an employee to enter a noncompete agreement, that does not satisfy an...

Was 2023 An Annus Horribilis For California Legislative Drafting?

It is that time of year when both the professional and general press feature stories about new laws that will be taking effect.  As I survey the California legislature's handiwork in 2023, I have identified the following themes:

Nevada Supreme Court Defines Blue Penciling Obligation Of Courts

In 2016, I wrote about the Nevada Supreme Court's refusal to "blue pencil" non-compete agreements so as to make them enforceable.  Golden Road Motor Inn, Inc. v. Islam, 132 Nev. 476, 488, 376 P.3d 151, 159 (2016).  The Nevada legislature was not in...

Is Attaching Several Documents To A Single Email Procedurally Unconscionable?

In the high and far-off times, physical delivery was the only option of providing documents to the other side. Before copy machines, an agreement would be written and then rewritten on the same page. The two copies would be separated by cutting them...

Will California's New Statute Invalidating Non-Compete Agreements Be Subject To Constitutional Challenge?

Article I, Section 10 of the United States Constitution prohibits a state from passing any law impairing the obligation of contracts. A similar prohibition is found in Article 1, Section 9 of the California Constitution. This prohibition extends to...

Newly Minted California Law Tautologically Declares Void Noncompete Agreements Unenforceable Regardless Of Where They Were Signed

Since at least 1941, California has declared, with certain limited exceptions, that every contract by which anyone is restrained from engaging in a lawful profession, trade, or business of any kind is to that extent void". Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §...

Pre-Merger Non-Solicitation Ban Yields No Antitrust Claim

It is rare that for an employer to instruct its employees not to try to lure aware a competitor's customers. It is rarer still when an employer fires an employee for doing so. These may be rare events, but apparently (or at least allegedly) they...

California Asymmetrical Approach To Non-Competes

One unintended consequence of California's voiding of many non-compete agreements is that it puts California employers at a disadvantage with respect to employee recruitment. Employers in other states are free to hire away employees in California...

Bill Would Authorize Disbarment Of Attorneys Who Enter Into Non-Competes With Their Employees

California lawyers are well aware of this state disfavors covenants not to compete.  California Senator Kevin McCarty would like to increase the level of hostility by adding a provision to the Business & Professions Code prohibiting employers from ...

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